Compaction behavior of Al6061 powder in the semi-solid state

Yufeng Wu
1
, Gap-Yong Kim
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 6 June 2011
Received in revised form 11 August 2011
Accepted 16 August 2011
Available online 23 August 2011
Keywords:
Semi-solid processing
Powder compaction
Modeling
Relative density
Al6061
Semi-solid powder processing involves compaction of metallic alloy powders in temperature ranges when
both solid and liquid phases coexist. However, modeling of such process has been very scarce. In this
study, compaction behavior of Al6061 powder in the presence of liquid phase was investigated. The relation-
ship between compaction pressure and relative density of powder in the semi-solid state was modeled and
veried against experimental measurements. The results showed that the powder compaction behavior
can be accurately predicted by ShimaOyane model when the liquid fraction was below 20%. In this range,
all the normalized pressurerelative density curves merged into one, which could be expressed in a simple
exponential form. When the liquid fraction was higher than 20%, the model failed to predict the compaction
behavior because of the non-uniform distribution of the liquid phase. Squeezing-out of the liquid phase and
interlocking of the irregular solid phase were speculated to occur during the compaction process.
2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Semi-solid powder processing (SPP) has attracted increasing interest
in recent years. SPP combines the benets of the semi-solid forming and
powder metallurgy [13]. The exibility of powder mixing enables tai-
loring of material properties [46], and the unique rheological charac-
teristic of the semi-solid ow allows forming of complex geometries. It
can also minimize post processing steps typically required in powder
metallurgy routes. SPP has been successfully applied in processing of
alloy materials such as AlTi [7,8] and AlMg [9], and composite mate-
rials including AlSiC [1014] and AlCNT [15]. Wu et al. also demon-
strated the effectiveness of semi-solid powder ow in lling the
micro-scale features for applications in micro/meso-manufacturing [6].
Models have beendeveloped to predict andunderstand bulk material
deformation in the semi-solid state and metallic powder compaction in
the solid state. In general, a modeling approach for semi-solid forming
of bulk material depends on the amount of solid phrase (or liquid
phase) in the material [16]. When the solid fraction is high (N0.5), the
material can be regarded as a viscoplastic porous medium saturated
with liquid [2]. At low solid fractions, the solid phase is treated as ag-
glomerations within the slurry system [17]. On the other hand, several
constitutive models have been developed to describe the powder com-
paction process. DruckerPrager cap model is one of the most widely
used powder compaction models [18]. It is capable of providing an accu-
rate prediction of density evolution based on the pressure applied [19].
To determine the parameters used in this model, however, a triaxial
compression experiment is needed, which is delicate and requires
sophisticated equipment [18]. The parameters are likely to vary as the
temperature is changed. Fleck et al. [20] developed a yield criterion for
powder compacts based on the particle strain energy analysis, enabling
a direct application of the constitutive equations to the powder compac-
tion process. Shima and Oyane [21] proposed a plastic yield criterion for
porous metallic structures fabricated by sintering. This model has been
successfully applied at both room [21] and high temperature powder
compaction processes [22]. However, no study was found that extended
into the semi-solid regime to model the powder compaction in the
presence of liquid phase.
In this work, the compaction behavior of metallic alloy powder in
the semi-solid regime was studied. Al6061 powders were compacted
at temperatures below the melting point (550 C) to the semi-solid
range (645 C). The SPP was modeled for the rst time by extending
ShimaOyane's model for the prediction of compaction of powders
with relative lowliquid fraction (b20 vol.%). The effects of temperature
(or liquid fraction) on the parameters of the model were analyzed. The
friction between the powder and die was modeled to obtain a more ac-
curate density prediction. The predicted overall density and density dis-
tribution along the compaction direction were compared with
experimental ndings. In addition, the powder compaction behavior
with high liquid fraction (N20 vol.%) was experimentally analyzed.
2. Theoretical background
An alloy material in semi-solid state is partly melted between the
solidus and liquidus temperatures, and therefore, both solid and liquid
phases coexist. The liquid fraction of the material can be dened as:
f
l

V
l
V
s
V
l
1
Powder Technology 214 (2011) 252258
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 515 294 6938; fax: +1 515 294 3261.
E-mail addresses: andywu@iastate.edu (Y. Wu), gykim@iastate.edu (G.-Y. Kim).
1
Tel.: +1 515 294 2510; fax: +1 515 294 3261.
0032-5910/$ see front matter 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.powtec.2011.08.017
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
Powder Technology
j our nal homepage: www. el sevi er . com/ l ocat e/ powt ec
where, V
s
and V
l
are the volumes of the solid and liquid phases, respec-
tively. The relative density of the powder compact D, i.e. the volume
fraction of the semi-solid mixture in the powder compact, can be
obtained through:
D
V
s
V
l
V
s
V
l
V
p
2
where, V
p
is the volume of the pores.
As shown in Fig. 1, the semi-solid skeleton (i.e., the matrix phase
consisting of solid andliquid phases) and the pores bear the load applied
to the powder compact. The stress component acting on the powder
compact can be separated into the semi-solid skeleton and the pores as:

t
ij

ssm
ij

pore
ij
3
where,
ij
t
is the total stress applied to the semi-solid powder com-
pact;
ij
ssm
and
ij
pore
are the stress components taken by the semi-
solid skeleton and the pores, respectively.
Although the ShimaOyane yield model was originally developed for
sintered porous metals, the model has shown to predict the behavior of
cold powder compaction process quite successfully [19]. At elevated
temperatures when the material becomes mushy, the porous material
will behave very similar to interlinked porous structure for which the
original ShimaOyane yield criterion was developed. If the liquid
phase is uniformly distributed in the semi-solid skeleton during the
compaction process, one can apply the ShimaOyane model to evaluate
the stress required to deform the semi-solid matrix phase. In this study,
ShimaOyane yield behavior was assumed for temperatures between
550 C and 630 C as the following:
f

eq

2

2

2

3

2

1

3

2
_ _
2


m
f
_ _
2
_
_
_
_
_
_
1
2
4
where,
eq
is the equivalent stress applied to the full density matrix
phase;
1
,
2
, and
3
are principal stresses of the powder compact; and
f is the ratio of the apparent stress applied to the powder compact and
the equivalent stress applied to the full density matrix phase. Thus, the
yield behavior of the porous compact is described by Eq. (4), i.e. by
deviatoric and hydrostatic stresses applied to the porous compact, and
parameters f and f, which are related to the relative density of the po-
rous compact.
m
=(
1
+
2
+
3
)/3; f =D
n
; f =1/[a(1D)
b
]. n, a and
b are material-related parameters. The yield surface of ShimaOyane
model is shown in Fig. 2. It is observed that when the relative density
of the powder compact approaches the full density, the ShimaOyane
yield criterion becomes equivalent to the von-Misses yield criterion.
For the condition of closed die forging, Shima and Oyane [21] further
simplied Eq. (4) to:

ssm
zz

eq
D
n
f
2

4
9
_ _1
2
5

eq
:
D
4
9
f
2
_ _ _ _1
2
D
:
6
where
zz
ssm
is the normal stress acting on the semi-solid powder com-
pact in the compaction direction; and
eq
is the equivalent strain of
the matrix material.
The inuence of die wall friction is critical to the overall density
and the density distribution along the compression axis. As the aspect
ratio of compact height to radius (H/R) becomes large, the powder
die friction becomes signicant and inuences the density distribu-
tion. The slab equilibrium theory holds when H/R is greater than
two [18]:
d
ssm
zz

ssm
zz

2
R
_ _
dz 7
where, is the friction coefcient between the powder compact and the
die wall; is the stress transmission coefcient, where =
yy
ssm
/
zz
ssm
and
canbe relatedto Poisson's ratio (v) with=v/(1v); andR is the radius
of the die.
yy
ssm
is the normal stress to the semi-solid powder compact in
the y direction. Strainincrements inprincipal directions derived fromthe
plastic potential can be used to express the Poisson's ratio in terms of
density by [21]:
v
0:5 1
2
9f
2
_ _
1
1
9f
2
: 8
Following a similar procedure suggest by Kang et al. [22], the
stress taken by the pore can be calculated as
ij
pore
=
ij
p
g
f
g
, where,

ij
is Kronecker delta; p
g
is the hydrostatic pressure of pores; and f
g
is the volume fraction of the porosity. The hydrostatic pressure within
the pores enclosed by the solidliquid mixture can be estimated from
[23]:
p
g
p
ex
f
g
cl
f
g
1f
g
1f
g
cl
p
ex
9
where, p
ex
is the external gas pressure (i.e., the atmospheric pres-
sure); and f
g
cl
is the pore close porosity (typically, f
g
cl
is 0.125 [23]).
Therefore, the overall stress required to compress the semi-solid
powder compact can be evaluated with Eq. (3), where the stress com-
ponent acting on the semi-solid matrix phase and pores are calculated Fig. 1. Schematics of die compaction of semi-solid powder.
Fig. 2. Yield surface of ShimaOyane model.
253 Y. Wu, G.-Y. Kim / Powder Technology 214 (2011) 252258
by Eqs. (6) and (9), respectively. The stress distribution along the com-
paction direction is obtained by Eq. (7).
3. Experimental procedure
Gas atomized Al6061 powder was used for the closed die compac-
tion to verify the developed analytical approach. The mean size of the
Al6061 powder (Valimet, Inc.) was 13.8 m. The alloy composition of the
Al6061 powder is listed in Table 1. The experimental setup for the SPP is
shown in Fig. 3. The die was fabricated fromH13 tool steel and was heat
treated to hardness of HRC 50. To lubricate the die and prevent possible
reaction between the aluminum and the die material at elevated tem-
peratures, boron nitride (Momentive Performance Materials-Quartz,
Inc.) was sprayed on the die wall. The Al6061 powder was pre-
compacted at 50 MPa using materials testing system (TestResources
Inc, 800LE) at room temperature.
At elevated temperatures, pressure was applied for densication of
the powder compact. The experimental conditions and model parame-
ters are summarized inTable 2. Eight temperature settings ranging from
550 C to 645 C, with liquid fraction in the range of 041.8%, were used
in the experiments. The liquid fractions at different temperatures were
obtained from ThermoCalc and veried with experimental results of
differential scanning calorimetry analysis conducted by Kim et al. [24].
The temperature proles for the experiments at 600 C settings are
showninFig. 4, and other temperature proles are similar. After heating
the pre-compact to the target temperature, a constant punch velocity of
0.01 mm/s was applied. Maximum pressure applied was varied from
15 MPa through 50 MPa to analyze the effect of friction on the relative
density distribution according to Eq. (7).
The density of the samples was calculated from measured mass and
volume. The samples were weighed with precision balance (Sartorius
GD503, accuracy 0.0001 g). The volume of the samples was calculated
by measuring the diameter andheight witha micrometer. Four measure-
ments were taken at different locations of the sample, and the average
value was used. Archimedes's method was not used because of the exis-
tence of large amount of openpores observedat lower densities. Samples
were cut with a diamond sawand polished for optical inspection using a
scanning electron microscope (JEOL JSM-606LV). Keller's etchant was
used to etch the Al6061 samples for 20 s.
4. Results and discussion
The yield response of Al6061 in the semi-solid state was rst dis-
cussed. The relative density during SPP was modeled and the results
were compared with the experimental measurements for processing
temperatures between 550 C and 645 C. Finally, compaction behavior
of semi-solid powder and model limits were analyzed.
4.1. Yield of Al6061 in the semi-solid region
Lou et al. [25] carried out compression tests with Al6061 rods in
the semi-solid region from 550 C to 610 C. As shown in Fig. 5, the
solid fraction of Al6061 dramatically decreases after 620 C, and
thus, a direct extrapolation of Lou's data will lead to an overestimation
of the yield of Al6061 beyond 620 C when signicant amount of liquid
phase is present. On the other hand, the solid phase of the material will
follow the temperature dependency. Therefore, we assumed that the
solid phase yield strength may be extrapolated to obtain the yield of
the solidliquid mixture above 610 C.
Table 1
Chemical composition of Al6061.
Element Al Mg Si Cu Fe Cr Zn Mn Ti
Amount (%) Bal. 1.03 0.52 0.28 0.27 0.09 0.06 0.03 0.01
Fig. 3. Experimental setup for semi-solid powder processing.
Table 2
Experimental settings and parameters.
Temperature Liquid
fraction
(%) [24]
Compaction
pressure
(MPa)
Friction
coefcient
used in model
Model parameters
a b n
550 C 0.00 50 0.55 2.0 0.48 2.0
580 C 3.88 50 0.55 2.0 0.48 2.0
600 C 7.30 35 0.55 2.0 0.48 2.0
620 C 12.40 20 0.55 2.25 0.39 2.0
630 C 17.85 20 0.55 2.25 0.39 2.0
638 C 26.22 15 0.55 2.25 0.39 2.0
641 C 31.50 15 0.55 2.25 0.39 2.0
645 C 41.80 15 0.55 2.25 0.39 2.0
Fig. 4. Heating prole used in the experiments at 600 C.
Fig. 5. Solid fraction of Al6061 at different temperature.
Data obtained from ThermoCalc 3.1.
254 Y. Wu, G.-Y. Kim / Powder Technology 214 (2011) 252258
According to Gunasekera et al. [26], the yield strength of a material in
the semi-solid state is related to the solid phase yield strength through
the following equation:

eq

y solid
10
where is a parameter function of liquid fraction (f
l
) in the form of
=1f
l
k
. =1.26 and k=2/3. The relation is known to agree
well with experimental measurements up to liquid fraction of 0.4.
Therefore, the solid phase strength was calculated from Eq. (10)
using Lou's data and extrapolated. The tted results are presented in
Eqs. (11a) and (11b). Finally, the yield properties of the Al6061 at
temperature above 550 C,
eq
, can be calculated from Eqs. (10),
(11a) and (11b). The comparison between the tted results and ex-
perimental data from Ref. [25] is shown in Fig. 6.

y solid
2:9253ln
:
31:031;T b 570C 11a

y solid
2:0962ln
:
0:0570T 55:71836;T 645C 11b
where

is the strain rate,

y_solid
is the yield stress (MPa) of the solid
phase material, and T is temperature in C.
4.2. Liquid phase formation in Al6061 particles in the semi-solid state
The microstructures and the morphologies of the original Al6061
particles, and Al6061 particles heated up to 620 C or 641 C and
Fig. 6. Yield strength (
y_eq
) of Al6061 above 550 C.
Fig. 7. Microscopy images for Al6061 particles: (a) and (c) back scatter images of original Al6061 particles; (b) optical image of original Al6061 particles (polished and etched);
(e) and (f) Al6061 particle heated up to 620 C; and (g) and (h) Al6061 particle heated up to 641 C.
255 Y. Wu, G.-Y. Kim / Powder Technology 214 (2011) 252258
cooled down are shown in Fig. 7. In the back scatter mode, the white
dots (or streak marks) and agglomerations were found to be a combi-
nation of Mg (1.32 wt.%), Si (1.24 wt.%), Fe (410 wt.%), Cu
(~0.5 wt.%), Cr (~0.5 wt.%) and Al (bal) according to the EDX results
obtained from multiple positions with large white agglomerations.
These white dots (streaks or agglomerations) were formed during the
solidication process and indicate a solidication pattern of a particle.
The alloy elements were uniformly distributed in the whole particle at
room temperature (Fig. 7(a) and (b)). After heating up to 620 C and
cooling, the alloy elements slightly agglomerated (Fig. 7(d)). At
641 C, the alloy elements further agglomerated into large white spots
as shown in Fig. 7(f).
The melting of the particle will most likely have occurred at the
solidication patterns. From the SEM backscattered images, melting
resulted in a rather uniform formation of liquid phase inside the par-
ticle at 620 C. When the temperature approached 641 C, the melting
signicantly increased at the surface of Al6061 particle. Liquid
pockets formed and resulted in irregular solid phase morphology.
This is captured in Fig. 7(g) where large number of liquid pockets or
channels was formed on the particle surface. These geometries
(dark pockets or channels) were not observed at lower temperatures
(Fig. 7(c) and (e)).
4.3. Compaction curve
The prediction of relative density with the model matched the re-
sults for temperature ranges from550 C to 630 C at which the liquid
fraction of Al6061 was from 0 to 0.18, as shown in Fig. 8. Since the
powder was pre-compacted at room temperature at 50 MPa, it
would require nite amount of pressure to initiate the deformation
of the powder compact. As shown in Fig. 8, ShimaOyane model
was able to capture the initial pressure required to deform the pre-
compacted powder in the semi-solid state. The parameters used in
the model are listed in Table 2.
In the model, the parameters, a and b, were different for tempera-
tures below and above 600 C. It was speculated that the structural
deformation property changed when high amount of liquid phase
was present. When the liquid fraction is low, the liquid material is
isolated within the particle during deformation. On the other hand,
at higher liquid phase content, the liquid phase may forma connected
network leading to change in the structural response of the compact.
This can be captured by changing the structural parameters, a and b.
As shown in Fig. 9, when the pressure (P) was normalized by the
pressure required to obtain a relative density of 0.95 (P
D=0.95
), the com-
paction curves collapse into a single curve for temperatures between
550 C and 630 C. This indicated that the overall deformation
mechanism of Al6061 in the semi-solid region at lower liquid fraction
was consistent. The relation can be represented with a simple expres-
sion:
P=P
D0:95
Ae
BD
12
where, the tted values were A=5.4010
4
and B=7.90.
The compaction curves between 638 C and 645 C are separately
shown in Fig. 10. The relative density curve was calculated from the
punchdisplacement data for the three different temperatures. To validate
the approach, additional ve samples were fabricated at varying pres-
sures at 638 C. Their actual densities were measured are shown as
black square tick marks.
It was quite obvious that the model failed to predict the density
change in these high temperature ranges. As shown in Fig. 10, the rela-
tive densitycompaction pressure curves were similar to each other for
temperatures between 638 C to 645 C, although the liquid fraction
varied from26%to 42%. It was notedthat the liquidphase escapedduring
the compaction process for temperatures above 630 C as summarized in
Table 3. Excessive amount of liquid material squeezed out during the ini-
tial stage of compaction, and the resultant material content (i.e., the liquid
fraction in the leftover material) was similar in these three. Consequently,
similar pressuredensitycurves were observedfor temperatures between
638 C and 645 C in spite of the signicantly different initial liquid
contents.
The characteristic of the curve shape was different from those at
lower temperatures because of the agglomeration of liquid materials.
An apparent change of stressdensity response was observed at loca-
tion A. At high liquid phase content, irregular solid phase morphology
was formed as shown in Fig. 7(g). The interlocking of the irregular
Fig. 8. Experimental and modeling results for semi-solid powder compaction from
550 C to 630 C.
Fig. 9. Normalized pressure and relative density relation of Al6061 powder in liquid
range of 0 to 20%.
Fig. 10. Compaction behavior of Al6061 powder between 638 C and 645 C with high
liquid phase content (above 20%).
256 Y. Wu, G.-Y. Kim / Powder Technology 214 (2011) 252258
solid arms may have result in strengthening of the material causing a
sudden change in the densication behavior.
A schematic of powder compaction of Al6061 at lowand high liquid
fractions is illustrated inFig. 11. The compactionbehavior of the powder
compact in the semi-solid state can be summarized as the following:
1) When the liquid fraction is below 10%, an isolated liquid phase for-
mation is observed throughout the particle (see Fig. 11(b)). Shima
Oyane model is capable of predicting the compaction behavior in
the semi-solid state.
2) When the liquid fraction is between 10% and 20%, some of the liquid
phase within the particle may form a network (Fig. 11(c)). The ma-
terial structural parameters, i.e. a and b, in the ShimaOyane model
needto be correctedto account for liquid phase effect onthe powder
compaction behavior.
3) When the liquid fraction is higher than 20%, the compaction
mechanism deviated from that of ShimaOyane model because
of the squeeze out of the liquid phase and the formation of solid
phase with irregular morphology. The ShimaOyane model is no
longer applicable in this region.
4.4. Density distribution
Relative density distribution at 600 C is presented in Fig. 12. The
top of the sample was contacting the moving punch, and the bottom
of the sample was in contact with the stationary die. As expected, the
relative density of the sample decreased fromthe top of the sample to
the bottom. The model predicted the density distribution reasonably
well.
The rate change of relative density (dD/dt) at different powder
compact location during the compaction process at 620 C is shown
in Fig. 13. Relative density rate showed a contrasting behavior at the
top and bottom surfaces as the pressure was applied. In the beginning,
the densication immediately started near the top surface where the
powder was in contact with the moving punch, while densication is
minimal near the bottom of the compact. As the pressure is applied to
the powder compact, the densication progressed through the bottom
of the compact. In the late stage of the compaction process, the density
increasing rate at the bottom was higher than that at the top.
5. Conclusion
The compaction behavior of Al6061 powder in the semi-solid tem-
perature range with liquid content up to 42% was studied. The Shima
Oyane model was successful at capturing the compaction behavior of
semi-solid powder when the liquid fraction was relative low (b20%).
When liquid fraction was above 10%, the material structural response
changed, which resulted in adjusting of the material structural parame-
ters, a and b. As the liquid content increased to higher than 20%, the
model prediction deviated from the experimental measurements.
Table 3
Liquid phase squeeze out during SPP.
Temperature Compaction
pressure
(MPa)
Liquid
squeezed out
(g/0.9 g)
Original
liquid
fraction (%)
Liquid fraction in
leftover material
(%)
550 C620 C Varies 0 0 0
630 C 15 0.008 17.85 17.11
638 C 2 0.055 26.22 21.42
3 0.052 21.70
5 0.055 21.42
7.5 0.065 20.40
15 0.063 20.67
641 C 15 0.112 31.50 21.76
645 C 15 0.165 41.80 28.73
Fig. 11. Illustration of various stages in powder compaction of an alloy material in semi-solid regime: (a) powder compact at room temperature; (b)(d) powder compact at semi-solid
state; and (d) and (e) densication of the powder compact.
257 Y. Wu, G.-Y. Kim / Powder Technology 214 (2011) 252258
Microstructural analysis showed that the liquid phase was no longer
uniformly distributed within the particle, but rather agglomerated into
liquid pockets. Squeezing-out of the liquid phase and interlocking of
the irregular solid phase may have resulted in changes in the compac-
tion behavior. It was also discovered that all the normalized pressure
relative density curves in temperature ranges between 580 C and
620 C merged into a single curve and can be expressed with a simple
exponential expression. The effects of die wallpowder friction on the
relative density distribution along the compaction direction were also
successfully predicted by the model.
Acknowledgment
The authors greatly appreciate the nancial support from National
Science Foundation under grant number CMMI-1030120. We would
also like to acknowledge Prof. Alan Russell in the Dept. of Materials
Science Engineering at Iowa State University and Prof. Iver Anderson
at Ames Laboratory of US Dept. of Energy for the numerous discussions.
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Yufeng Wu is Ph.D. candidate in Dept. of Mechanical
Engineering at Iowa State University. His primary research
area is synthesis of metal composite materials through
semi-solid powder processing technique.
Gap-Yong Kim is currently Assistant Professor in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering at Iowa State Uni-
versity. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering
from University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 2006. His re-
search interests include semi-solid processing, metal matrix
composites, micro-manufacturing, and solid oxide fuel cells.
Fig. 12. Relative density distribution within the powder compact fabricated and pre-
dicted at 600 C.
Fig. 13. Density changing rate at different positions for different compaction pressures
at 620 C.
258 Y. Wu, G.-Y. Kim / Powder Technology 214 (2011) 252258